Australian Sky & Telescope — November-December 2017

(Marcin) #1

52 AUSTRALIAN SKY & TELESCOPE November | December 2017


CELESTIAL CALENDAR by Alan MacRobert

SpottingUranus&Neptune


A


bright planet usually attracts
attention in the late night long
before it comes to opposition.
But you have to be dedicated to net dim
Uranus and Neptune before they become
conveniently placed in the evening sky.
Which, for the next decade or so, will
mean spring and early summer.
Neptune, magnitude 7.8 in Aquarius,
was at opposition on September 5.

Uranus, in Pisces, came to opposition on
October 19. At magnitude 5.7, Uranus
is detectable with the naked eye if you
have a good dark sky. Both planets are in
the ‘Great Water’ region, over which the
Great Square of Pegasus reigns.
The edge of the Great Square just
made it into the top of our wide-field
chart on the facing page, which shows
stars to 7th magnitude. That’s more

than enough for finding brighter Uranus.
Use the zoomed-in view of Uranus’s
immediate area to pinpoint where it will
be on its path for your date.
Fainter Neptune will require using
the Neptune enlargement at your
eyepiece. But this season the planet will
be easier to locate than usual; it’s just a
degree or so from Lambda (h) Aquarii,
magnitude 3.7.

+10°

+8°

+6°

Sept 1
Oct 1
Nov 1
Dec 1
Jan 1,
2018

Feb 1

Mar 1

+
i

k

1 h 50 m 1 h 40 m 1 h 30 m

Path of Uranus

PISCES

Star magnitudes

4 5 6 7 8 9

–6°

–8° Sept 1
Oct 1
Nov 1

Dec 1

Jan 1,
2018

83 Feb 1 h

23 h 10 m 23 h 00 m 22 h 50 m

Path of Neptune

AQUARIUS

Star magnitudes

4 5 6 7 8 9

+10 °


–10°

α

α

ε δ

φ

γ

γ

η

η

η

ι

ι

κ

λ

λ

ν

ο

θ

θ
ω

ξ

ψ ψ 1
2

ζ

ζ

ζ

AQUARIUS

Path of
Uranus

Path of
Neptune

CETUS

PISCES

PEGASUS

2 h 00 m 1 h 30 m 1 h 00 m 0 h 30 m 0 h 00 m 23 h 30 m 23 h 00 m 22 h 30 m

Star magnitudes
34567
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